Yoga is an ancient form of exercise that focuses on flexibility, strength and breathing to boost both mental and physical wellbeing for the individual. The main components of yoga are postures (a series of movements designed to increase flexibility and strength) and breathing. Yoga originates from India, dating back to around 5,000 years ago, and has been adapted in many countries across the globe in a variety of ways. The practise is now commonplace in many leisure centres, health clubs, schools, hospitals as well as surgeries.

Most studies done on this ancient exercise method have confirmed that regular yoga practise is beneficial for those with high blood pressure, heart disease, aches and pains (including lower back pains), depression and stress. Although most forms of yoga are not strenuous enough to count for your 150 minutes of moderate activity per day, two sessions per week can help to strengthen your muscles and perform better within moderate to high level activities. Yoga can also help older individuals improve their sense of co-ordination, balance and improve lower body strength thus combating their likelihood of falls.

So many yoga poses, so little time! You’ve heard that yoga is THE way to firm up your glutes and get the perfect yoga butt, but which poses, or asanas, should you focus on for the best results?

Well, if you’re new to yoga, you should focus on the basics first so that you achieve the strength and flexibility for some of the more challenging butt beautifying poses. But don’t worry, some of the beginner poses are perfect for toning your posterior too.

And practicing these yoga poses won’t just give you a booty to die for, they’ll improve your posture, strengthen your core and lower back, stabilize your knee and hip joints, lengthen your thigh muscles and loosen you up so you can enjoy greater flexibility of movement.

Have you tried every diet under the sun only to find that the pounds just won’t shift?

Are the diets so dull and restrictive that you even though you start off great, feeling full of enthusiasm, soon enough you’re desperate for something to eat, anything to eat, that actually tastes good and satisfies your cravings?

There are some pretty weird diets out there aren’t there? And without a doubt most of them will help you to lose some weight at first. The problem is that the initial weight loss will be from your short term fat stores and from water. That’s the easiest weight to lose.

You drop a few pounds in the first week and think to yourself, hey this working! The good news staring back at you from the bathroom scale gives you the determination to carry on, even though you’re fed up of the food’s on your allowed list already. Then in the second week, the rate of weight loss slows down and sometimes you even gain a little weight back. And the slow weight loss continues until you just can’t do it anymore. You’re hungry and fed up and your will power packed its bags and left the building days ago. And you’ve still get those extra 10, 20, 60 lbs to shift.

Wouldn’t it be nice to find a diet that you can stick to for the long term? One that you know will bring results? That is nutritious and filling? That is full of delicious food? That just plain works?

Well, help is at hand with the Paleo Diet. And it’s pretty simple to follow. Once you learn some more about going Paleo, you’ll understand why this diet works, not just for weight loss, but for better health and more energy too. Paleo isn’t some nutty fad like the cabbage soup diet. The paleo diet is the diet we were designed to eat. It’s based on the foods that your very distant ancestors would have eaten. Back in the days when every human on the planet was a hunter gatherer. Back before we made the monumental mistake of settling down to become farmers of grain. Eating like a caveman could be the best health move you ever make.

The Worst Mistake In The History Of The Human Race

“In particular, recent discoveries suggest that the adoption of agriculture, supposedly our most decisive step toward a better life, was in many ways a catastrophe from which we have never recovered. With agriculture came the gross social and sexual inequality, the disease and despotism, that curse our existence,”

Homo sapiens (that’s us) and our ancestors have been on this earth for millions of years. And for millions of years our diets remained pretty much the same. Hunted meat, caught fish, grubbed up insects, honey, fruits and berries, root vegetables, edible herbs and leaves. Then 10,000 years ago we figured out how to farm.

10,000 years is the blink of an evolutionary eye.

10,000 years ago is when we started to get sick with degenerative and infectious diseases.

10,000 years ago is when we started to get fat.

Ancient humans moved away from their incredibly varied diet, rich in protein and nutrients to one based on high carbohydrate crops, wheat, corn, rice and potatoes. They switched to the grain based diet we eat today.

Those staples of our modern diets cause a lot of problems. They drive excess insulin production, which leads to fat storage and for many people metabolic disease. And they’re responsible for most of the health problems that plague our modern lives. Hippocrates said let food be thy medicine. Somehow we’ve turned it into poison.

The Food Pyramid Is Upside Down And ‘My Plate’ Is Broken

You’ve seen the government’s healthy eating guidelines I’m sure. They tell us it’s okay to eat bread, pasta, rice and cereals. They include potatoes (high carbohydrate food) in the vegetable category. They recommend fat free or low fat milk and tell us to use all fats sparingly. Why do they do that when those guidelines make us fat and sick? There’s just no excuse for that kind of misleading guidance today, when the evidence for the harm that this advice has caused is so overwhelming.

It might come as a surprise to you to learn that the junk food industry – from heavily subsidized grain farming all the way to the rows of processed junk on the supermarket shelves – has a lot to do with those guidelines.

The USDA is tasked withdeveloping and executing federal policies relating to farming, agriculture, forestry, and food. The USDA is also in charge of setting policy for nutritional guidelines. The USDA is also heavily influenced by lobbyists from Big Agriculture and Big food and often there is a revolving door between high level jobs at Big Ag/Big Food and jobs at the USDA. There’s a similar revolving door at Big Pharma and the FDA. Funny how that works isn’t it?

Can we really expect sound nutritional advice from an agency tasked with furthering the increase in US grain farming output and one influenced by companies that make a whole lot of dough from that grain? In a word. No.

The huge food conglomerates make an ‘unhealthy’ profit, from pushing food made from cheap, nutritionally empty ingredients. And the reason they can get cheap ingredients is that they lobby the government to subsidize their production. The government doesn’t subsidize farmers to grow vegetables, or to produce grass fed beef, or pasture raised eggs and poultry.

No, it hands over billions of dollars of taxpayers money every year, to make sure that peddlers of empty food get the cheapest ingredients, so that they can make big profits. Profits made at your expense in more ways than one. The junk food kings are the biggest welfare queens around.

The government issued its first set of dietary guidelines in 1980. Since then the number of Americans who are obese or suffer from type-2 diabetes has doubled.In the early 1960s only 10% of people in the U.S. were obese Today, one-third of Americans are obese and another third are overweight

Eating based on the ‘healthy’ food pyramid guidelines or the new simplified ‘My Plate’ will make you fat. It will make you sick. If the government had really wanted to get the nation eating healthy foods, it wouldn’t have tried to dumb the public down with the childish ‘My Plate’. No, it would have told the truth.

Well What Is The truth? What Is A Healthy Diet?

Want to know what a healthy diet looks like? Turn the food pyramid upside down and you’re there. Yep, that’s how utterly and criminally distorted the healthy eating guidelines have been for the last 30 plus years.

A real nutritious food pyramid would have healthy fats and vegetables as the bulk of your daily diet, followed by high quality protein – meat, poultry, fish, eggs – then a moderate amount of fruit and finally on top a small amount of grains and sugar.

And an upside down food pyramid is shockingly close to the Paleo Diet.

Eat Like A Caveman

Research shows that eating a Paleo diet provides better satiety per calorie than both Mediterranean style diets and low-fat diets. Satiety means feeling full up and feeling satisfied. That means the Paleo diet is more filling for the same number of calories.

This is key for weight loss since it means that you can eat less without fighting hunger or counting every calorie. Hunger isn’t just an uncomfortable rumbling in your tummy. Hunger is a complex mechanism controlled by your brain.

When your brain is sending you hunger signals it’s also busy lowering your metabolic rate to conserve energy and increasing your appetite in an effort to get you to go and find more food fast.

And it’s not necessarily more calories that your body is hungry for. If you aren’t getting nutrients inside your body, then your brain will keep on asking for them. But it doesn’t have a separate way to tell you to eat more vitamin B complex, or more calcium, or more magnesium, all it can do is give you that one hunger signal.

There’s another problem with hunger signalling too. If you suffer from metabolic syndrome – and if you’re overweight or obese, you probably do – your body is very good at hoarding energy, but it’s positively lousy at converting those energy stores back into fuel that you can use.

When you eat, your body fills up its short term energy stores, and then it’s supposed to use that energy to slowly fuel you until your next meal. When you have metabolic syndrome, it doesn’t do that very well. Even though you just ate 800 calories, your body thinks it’s starving and rings the dinner bell again. You go and eat and the cycle just repeats and repeats and your clothes get tighter and tighter.

Eating a Paleo diet has been shown to improve metabolic health and short circuit that viscous hunger cycle.

With a Paleo diet, you eat tasty, nourishing foods – including the ‘bad’ foods you’ve been told to avoid, like fat, red meat and eggs – and watch the pounds melt away. Seeing the number on the scale drop without experiencing hunger will make it easy to stay on track and achieve your weight loss goals. You won’t need to rely on fickle willpower.

The paleo diet is based on a plate full of vegetables, some nice tasty animal sourced protein, and lots of nutritious healthy fats. Foods which provide all of the macro and micronutrients that your body needs. And when your body gets those nutrients

It stops demanding more food

It stops concocting cravings

It stops fighting you.

A paleo fed body lets go of the weight. It shakes off metabolic syndrome. And it gives you your energy back. Following the Paleo diet lets you lose weight without even trying.

Sound good? Great. Let’s get a couple of things out of the way first though. The Paleo diet doesn’t mean you get to eat a dinner plate sized piece of prime rib 3 times a day. Too much protein plays whack-a-do with your insulin levels as much as too much sugar does.

And the Paelo diet is a diet for life. Which is no bad thing since it’s how we’re designed to eat! If you lose weight with Paleo and then go back to the standard American diet (SAD), you’ll gain the weight back and all of the health problems that go with lardy-butt syndrome.

One more note of caution. The Paleo community – yes there is such a thing, and it’s pretty darn big – has a large contingent of absolute health nuts. And I mean health nuts in a nice way, not in a derogatory way. But that means that a lot of the focus is on getting lean, ripped and shredded. And if you go and poke around in those corners of the internet on a quest to gather more information, you’ll find people talking about some serious levels of hard exercise and some serious amounts of Paleo friendly food intake to sustain that. That’s not the Paleo we want if we are trying to lose weight.

Alrighty let’s get down to business. I’m going to give you some food lists and a typical meal plan. It really is simple because natural foods are simple. Fill your shopping basket with fresh foods, not ones that you could stockpile in a bunker for the end of the world (most of the products on supermarket shelves).

If you can store it for an age without freezing it, then you shouldn’t be eating it.

You won’t find complicated recipes with the Paleo diet. There are no complicated instructions and rules. It’s so simple a caveman could… Oh wait 🙂

Animal Protein

Chicken

Turkey

Beef

Bacon

Bison

Goat

Pork

Lamb

Venison

Rabbit

Goose

Elk

Emu

Kangaroo

Eggs (duck, chicken, or goose)

Reindeer

Quail

Turtle

Ostrich

Pheasant

Tuna

Bass

Salmon

Halibut

Mackerel

Sardines

Tilapia

Red snapper

Shark

Sunfish

Swordfish

Trout

Crab

Crawfish

Shrimp

Clams

Lobster

Scallops

Oysters

Vegetables

Asparagus

Avocado

Artichoke hearts

Brussels sprouts

Carrots

Spinach

Celery

Broccoli

Zucchini

Cabbage

Peppers (all kinds)

Cauliflower

Parsley

Eggplant

Green onions

Kale

Mushrooms (not a vegetable but…)

Collard greens

Salad leaves

Herbs

Spices

Butternut squash*

Acorn squash*

Sweet potato*

Beets*

* in small amounts only

Fats

Coconut oil

Olive oil

Macadamia oil

Avocado oil

Grass-fed butter

Coconut milk

Almond milk

Nuts

Almonds

Cashews

Hazelnuts

Pecans

Pine nuts

Pumpkin seeds

Sunflower seeds

Macadamia nuts

Walnuts

Fruits

Apple

Avocado

Blackberries

coconut

Papaya

Peaches

Plums

Mango

Lychee

Blueberries

Grapes

Lemon

Strawberries

Watermelon

Pineapple Lime

Raspberries

Cantaloupe

Tangerine

Oranges

Meal Ideas

Planning your meals on the Paleo diet isn’t rocket science and you don’t need to count calories. These are the guidelines. A huge serving of non starchy vegetables – really eat as many as you like and liven them up with fat and herbs and spices, 1-2 palm sized pieces of fish or meat, or 3-4 eggs, a little fruit, a few nuts, a small amount of a starchy vegetable. You can eat three meals a day or skip a meal and eat more for the other two.

Large salad with tuna or salmon, slivered almonds and balsamic vinaigrette

Chicken or tuna with avocado, salad leaves, oil and vinegar dressing

Beef and vegetable soup

Hard boiled eggs with roasted vegetables

Dinners

Chuck roast with roasted zucchini

Greek style meatballs with roasted cauliflower

Sausage casserole

Spicy pork chilli

Indian chicken stir fry with cauliflower rice

Snacks

Carrot sticks with mustard mayonnaise

Berries

Handful of nuts or trail mix

Handful of olives

Piece of fruit

That’s pretty much it for the basics of the Paleo diet but some people will still struggle to lose weight, or may hit a plateau that they can’t break through. This could be because you’ve got undiagnosed thyroid problems or advanced metabolic syndrome with haywire hormones thwarting your efforts.

If this happens to you, don’t despair, you just need to try a different approach. And Dr Jack Kruse has one! He’s a neurosurgeon and optimal health educator who has extensively researched the brain chemistry involved in metabolic syndrome. He has helped people who found it impossible to lose weight, shed pounds and regain their health with his Paleo diet.

The information he’s put together is mind blowing, and it shines a very bright light on what is behind so many of our weight loss (and health) problems. His website is probably the best resource on the whole internet to learn about Leptin and the role it plays in our weight problems. He really gets down deep into the science which is a little heavy going for most of us, but he does have a getting started section on his website which is easier to get to grips with.

You can also ask questions, learn a lot and get friendly help in the forum. You may be advised to involve your health practitioner and get blood work done to determine just what your levels of certain hormones are. That way you won’t be casting around in the dark and you’ll get better advice.

There’s a book too, which details his version of the paleo diet, Epi Paleo Rx – The Prescription for Disease Reversal and Optimal Health.

So if the basic Paleo diet doesn’t work for you, although it works for most people, then head over and get some extra help. Dr Jack’s site is a fantastic resource. And be sure to check out the Monster thread in the forum!

If we’re referring to high blood pressure, yes you can. According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistic, there are about 75 million people in the United States who have high blood pressure. That’s one in every three American adult or 32% of the population.

Sadly, many of them do not know that they have the heart disease or not aware of the symptoms, making high blood pressure the leading cause of death in America alone. That’s around 1,100 deaths every day, according to a 2014 statistical report. With poor lifestyle and stressful environment, it’s highly likely that the number has gone up since then.

So this begs the questions, what is high blood pressure? Why is it known as a silent killer?What can I do to prevent or treat it? To answer the questions, let’s go back to the basics and understand the what, why and how to stop the world’s deadliest silent killer from taking away the long, healthy life you deserve.

What is high blood pressure?

This heart disease is defined as tension or high pressure in the arteries, which are, in layman’s terms, vessels that carry blood originating from the heart to the entire body. This heart condition is also known as hypertension.

To measure your blood pressure, a digital or aneroid sphygmomanometer is used. This is a medical device that has an adult cuff that is used to wrap around your left or right arm just above the elbow. The one doing the reading, mostly a doctor or a nurse, will pump air into the cuff via an air valve until the cuff tightens in the arm. Air is then released using a bulb and the blood pressure is read through the dial. In digital sphygmomanometer, the same principle applies, but reading will appear automatically on the screen.

Blood pressure readings are based on two numbers. The number at top, which is called systolic blood pressure, is equivalent to the pressure the blood arteries each time the heart contracts. The number at the bottom, also known as diastolic pressure, is the numerical equivalent of the pressure in the arteries when the heart relaxes. Once you get the readings, you will be able to tell if your high blood pressure is normal or out of whack. Here’s a chart to determine whether your blood pressure is normal or not:

Systolic in mm HG (Top number)

diastolic in mm HG (bottom number)

Result

120 and below

80 and below

Normal

Between 120 and 139

Between 80 and 89

Pre-hypertension

Between 140 and 159

Between 90 and 99

Stage 1 Hypertension

160 and higher

100 or higher

Stage 2 Hypertension

These numbers serve as your guide. However, these should not serve as a definite diagnosis of this condition. If you suspect that your blood pressure is beyond normal, the best move to make is to visit your doctor so he or she can make a proper diagnosis because there are several factors to consider, depending on your family history, your health, lifestyle and many others. Some individuals may have high blood pressure readings but are considered normal for his or her built. The abnormal pressure reading may also due to an underlying illness that you need to address to.

Why should high blood pressure be treated?

As we know, blood is essential and its proper circulation to promote life. Blood circulation aids in transporting nutrients and oxygen to cells and organs in the body. It also helps in removing carbon dioxide as well as other waste.

Each time your heart beats, a pressure is created in order to push blood through the arteries and the veins. When the heart relaxes after a beat, blood is drawn back to the heart muscle to push blood again. When the blood pressure rises, this can disrupt the system and cause the heart to work doubly hard to pump blood for the entire body.

And while the arteries are made of muscles that are slightly flexible, the force of the pump (high blood pressure) can cause the arteries to overstretch. When this happens, vascular scarring or tears in the blood vessels can occur. The tears in the tissue can cause cholesterol buildup, which increases the risk of developing blood clots. When this is left untreated, tissue damage and weakened walls will occur. As the buildup worsens, fresh oxygen will no longer be transported to cells and organs. And when there is no oxygenated blood, the result is heart attack or stroke. And if we can’t be more obvious, a heart attack can be deadly, and a stroke can lead to permanent disability. Aside from that, lack of oxygen in the organs can also cause permanent damage to the kidneys, brain, eyes and heart.

And as mentioned before, it’s hard to tell if you have high blood pressure until it’s too late. This explains why it’s important to live a healthy lifestyle early on to protect yourself from developing high blood pressure later in life.

What causes high blood pressure?

Unlike viral or bacterial diseases, there no exact causes for hypertension. However, there are several factors that contribute to the development of this dangerous heart disease. These include the following:

Overweight or obesity

Smoking

Excessive alcohol consumption

Physical inactivity or sedentary lifestyle

Stress

Sleep apnea

Family history and genetics

Old age

Thyroid disorders

Adrenal disorders

Chronic kidney disease

While these are conditions that can increase your risk of developing the disease, it doesn’t mean that you will develop high blood pressure if you experience any of those mentioned above. The best move you can make yourself to protect your arteries is to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle and fill your bodies that with nutritious food.

Avoiding foods that can trigger high blood pressure food should be done, such as the following:

Foods that are high in sodium such as processed foods and canned foods.

Omega-6 fats and trans fats. These type of fats increases blood pressure and inflammation in the arteries. These unhealthy fats are commonly found in packaged and processed foods as well as conventional meats.

Sugar

Caffeine. Yes, coffee and other caffeinated drinks can cause hypertension. Although it doesn’t happen immediately, it causes gradual increase in blood pressure. According to Mayo Clinic, “…People who regularly drink caffeinated beverages have a higher average blood pressure than do those who don’t.”

Alcohol. This can narrow the arterial walls, causing a spike in your blood pressure.

How to treat high blood pressure?

There are medications that your doctor will prescribe to you in order to control your higher than normal blood pressure. The first thing your doctor will ask you to, though, is to make lifestyle changes, especially if your blood pressure is in the pre-hypertension stage. Also, depending on his her medical evaluation, your doctor will also prescribe dietary and lifestyle changes before putting you on prescription medication.

So before submitting yourself to high blood pressure medicines, which can lead to long-term side effects, it’s best to try these natural remedies first:

Cut Down on the Salt

This flavor-adding kitchen ingredient is not really the problem but the chemical component found in salt called sodium. While sodium is not totally bad, per se. Too much of it, however, can cause an imbalance of body of fluid.

Think of it this way. When you eat too much sodium, the viscosity level in your blood will increase. To put it simply, it thickens. When that happens, the heart will have to pump extra hard in order to push thickened blood out to the entire body causing a rise in blood pressure.

So in order to reduce your risk of developing the disease, cut down on the salt. It doesn’t mean that you have to do away with salt. You just have to add less salt to your cooking. It also helps to pay attention to the food you’re eating. Read the labels before purchasing processed and packed food.

Reducing your salt intake can be hard at first, but as you gradually use less and less salt, your taste buds will adjust until you get used to eating food with less salt. In fact, when you’ve adjusted, you’ll find yourself repulsed at taste that’s too salty.

Move Your Butt

Exercise should really be high on your list. In fact, this should a huge part of your life because exercising triggers lot of benefits for your body. In fact, according to Time, even small amounts of exercise or small physical activity can do your body a lot of good. It’ll make your feel happier, reduced moments of depression, improve your skin, shrink fat cells and help you recover from illnesses fast. Most importantly, it can help reverse high blood pressure.

The human heart is a kind of muscle, and like any other muscles in the body, it becomes stronger with physical exercise. Pumping blood will become easier for the heart to do will require less effort, lowering the level of exertion the heart does to your arteries in pushing blood.

The truth of the matter is exercise is the number one remedy that can get your blood pressure back to normal. The bonus is you get to shed excess fat, which is a great favor you’re doing to your arteries and your blood vessels.

The good thing about exercise is that you don’t need to enroll at a gym. Even 30 minutes of physical activity, like sweeping or scrubbing the floor or cleaning the house. As long as the physical activity will get you to sweat and take your heart rate up, you’re already exercising.

Take Fish Oil

Ever wonder why almost all tuna commercials include phrases like “It’s good for the heart!” or “Guard your Hearts!”? That’s because tuna along with salmon, mackerel, sardines, oysters, mussels, halibut and many other seafoods are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which helps in lowering blood pressure.

Not only that, increasing your omega-3 fatty acids can help in reducing triglycerides as well as increasing your high-density lipoproteins or HDL, which is a good type of cholesterol.

Many heart surgeons prescribe fish oil to patients who have undergone heart transplant in order to prevent the development of high blood pressure after the procedure.

Omega-3 fatty acids or fish oil can be sourced from natural foods, such as seafood, but it can also be taken in the form of supplements. There are many fish oil supplements available in the market today. And you have the option to choose whether to take liquid fish oil, which you can take with orange juice, or the pill form. When buying canned tuna, be sure to check the sodium content on the label. As much as possible, go for fresh fish.

Include Garlic in Your Diet

This pungent-smelling seasoning is one of those home remedies that really work in improving your blood pressure back to normal levels. However, there is a catch when using garlic. Allicin, an organosulphur-sulfur compound that is responsible in providing health benefits to garlic, isn’t really effective when eaten raw. The reason is Allicin’s many health benefits are deactivated once it comes into contact with stomach acid, which has pH level lower than three.

In order to reap the full benefits of garlic in treating hypertension, garlic should be taken in tablet or capsule form. This yields better results in lowering blood pressure to normal levels.

Drink Coconut Water Instead of Coffee or Alcohol

Potassium and magnesium found in sweet-tasting, thirst-quenching coconut water are found to be helpful in muscle function. And because the heart is a giant muscle, drinking coconut water regularly can really in treating hypertension.

Choose fresh coconut water that is found inside a green coconut. One cup or eight ounces of this liquid can do your heart a lot of good. In fact, make this a part of your daily ritual. Drinking at least a cup in the morning is ideal, though drinking one cup twice a day can also do your heart some good.

Don’t Let Stress Bug You

Stress is a daily part of life, but you shouldn’t let it get the best of you. Stress is the number one contributor to hypertension. While feeling the emotional stress is normal, it can also affect your blood pressure big time. This is especially true if stress leads you to eating or drinking unhealthy stuff or smoking.

If you’re under a lot of stress, make the effort to de-stress. Identify the factors that cause you to feel stressed and work to eliminate the stressors. For example, make time for activities that you love during the day. If your workload is stressing you, talk to your boss. It also helps when you change your expectations, learn to say no to things that aren’t worth your time and avoid people who pull you down or are too negative. Solve problems that you can control as well. There are many ways you can do avoid stress. Just remember never to run more than your strength. Otherwise, stress will get you and that is bad for your heart.

Quit Smoking

Each cigarette stick you smoke increases your risk of developing high blood pressure. Studies have shown that those who stopped smoking, regardless of their age, have seen improvements in their hypertension and increase life expectancy.

When you decide to quit smoking, it’s always best to seek medical intervention especially if you’ve been smoking for years. The reason is the withdrawal symptoms can be harmful to your health and may lead to failure when trying to quit.

Ginger and Cardamom Tea

While further research is still needed in order to determine its effectiveness, cardamom powder has showed significant reduction in high blood pressure. When combined with cinnamon and ginger, blood circulation is greatly improved. To make this delicious warm and spicy tea, you’ll need the following:

To extract the oil from cardamom, crush the pods using a mortar and pestle. Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan except the honey. Bring to boil and let it simmer for six to nine minutes until it turns a rich caramel color. Strain the ingredients into a mug and add honey.

Eat Chocolates

Yes, you read that right! Chocolates are good in lowering blood pressure because of the flavanols they contain. However, before you head over to the supermarket and fill a basket with your favorite chocolates, there’s a catch.

To reap the benefits of chocolates, go for dark chocolates or cocoa powder enriched with flavanols. Some chocolates contain sugar and caffeine, which can affect normal blood pressure negatively. Instead, go for chocolate brands that are made of pure cocoa, 70% dark chocolate and contains less ingredients.

The best way to escape the silent killer called hypertension is to take preventive steps. A consultation with your doctor will help you determine whether you need to take medications or natural remedies will still for you. Of course, the great thing about these remedies is they don’t have any adverse effects to meds so you can try these with your medications as advised by your doctor.

Tea is an ancient beverage, well known for its stimulant properties, which are due to its caffeine content. Tea also has many health benefits with green tea proving the most valuable form of tea when it comes to boosting overall health as well as treating specific conditions.

Green tea is absolutely loaded with antioxidants and nutrients which have powerful healing effects on the body. It is green tea’s high levels of polyphenols which gives it its powerful antioxidant properties.

Green tea’s main antioxidant is Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG), which has been studied for its effectiveness in treating various diseases and could be one of the main reasons green tea has such powerful medicinal properties.

Antioxidants reduce the formation of free radicals in the body and protect cells from damage. Free radicals are known to play a role in the aging process and are implicated in the development of many diseases.

Among green tea’s impressive box of tricks are some wonderful benefits for your skin and hair. On your skin it can help with everything from stubborn acne to dark circles under your eyes. And it can make hair soft, shiny and full and health.

You don’t need to go out and buy expensive creams and lotions containing green tea, all you need are regular green tea bags and some effective recipes.

What Is Green Tea?

Green tea is made from the leaves of Camellia sinensis, which is the same plant that regular black tea comes from. The difference between the two comes from the way in which the leaves are processed.

Green tea is produced by heating the leaves (usually by steaming) immediately after picking. This heat stops the oxidation of the leaves, and maintains their green color, while preserving the tea’s health giving properties.

The leaves used to produce black tea however are encouraged to oxidize. The leaves are rolled, crushed or torn to help the oxidation process along. The leaves are then dried out and as they dry they turn from green to black. The oxidation process destroys the tea’s antioxidant properties.

Green tea varies in quality and composition depending on where it was grown and what environmental conditions it was exposed to. Always choose a high quality tea to ensure that you get the most health benefits. You should also know that some lower quality brands can contain high levels of fluoride, which may be a concern for you.

1. Reduces Puffy Eyes And Dark Circles With A Green Tea Compress

Green tea has two ingredients that work wonders on puffy tired eyes. Caffeine and tannins.

Caffeine shrinks the blood vessels in your skin, reducing swelling and puffiness. The constricted blood vessels also reduce the appearance of dark circles.

Tannins are responsible for the tea’s color and its astringent flavor. This astringency constricts the capillaries and blood vessels and enhances the effects of the caffeine.

Boil water and pour it into two cups. Place a green tea bag in each cup and leave them to steep for a couple of minutes. All we’re doing here is making sure that the tea gets nice and moist, because dry tea won’t work.

Once the tea bags are ready, take them out of the cups and squeeze out the excess water. Use the back of a spoon to do this so that you don’t burn your fingers. Pop the tea bags onto a plate and leave them to cool down. You want the bags to be about room temperature. If you’re in a hurry, you can put the tea bags in the freezer for a few minutes to speed thing up.

Now take your bags, lay back and place one tea bag onto each closed eye. Press it gently down onto your skin. Leave the green tea to work its magic for about ten minutes. During this time occasionally press the tea bags to make sure that they maintain good contact with your skin.

Once ten minutes is up, take the bags off and you’re all set. There’s no need to wash your eyes, but you should pat your skin dry and apply a touch of moisturizer because tannins can be drying.

Another way to use green tea to calm puffiness and reduce dark circles is to brew a cup of green tea with 2 tea bags. Let it steep for several hours, by which time all of the antioxidants and tannins will have infused into the water. Remove the tea, bags and soak 2 cotton balls or pads in the liquid. Then lie back and place them over your eyes.

2. Helps To Fight Acne And Restore Your Skin’s Good Looks

When your skin’s sebaceous glands go into overdrive and produce too much sebum, the result is oil clogged pores that attract dirt, and provide a smorgasbord for bacteria to feed on. The bacteria that causes acne is called Propionibacterium acnes.

There are a number of reason why your skin can produce too much sebum – poor hygiene, hormonal imbalances, pregnancy and certain medications – but whatever the cause you’ll want to find a way to clear up this painful and unsightly condition fast.

While there are a vast number of commercial skin preparations available that claim to treat acne, many of them are ineffective at best and some of them can cause major irritation and lasting damage to your skin. It’s a far better idea to use a natural and safe product, and green tea ticks all the boxes for acne control.

Green tea can help you to eradicate acne and get your skin back to normal. Just look at this impressive array of ways that green tea fights acne for you

Green tea reduces the production of sebum by 50%.

It has antibacterial properties which help to kill Propionibacterium acnes

It protects the skin from damaging UV radiation which helps to reduce the severity of acne scarring.

When acne is caused by high blood pressure or diabetes, consumption of green tea can help to eradicate the acne by eradicating the cause. Excess insulin production causes increased sebum production. Green tea is very effective in regulating insulin levels. Drinking 6 cups of green tea a day has been shown to reduce the risk of diabetes up to 33%.

The ECGC in green tea limits the conversion of testosterone to DHT, which is a hormone that contributes to acne.

Its Polyphenolic antioxidants which are also present in some fruits and berries fight against a wide range of opportunistic microbes.

Impressive, no? The same mechanisms that treat acne will also get rid of spots and pimples.

To benefit from green tea’s impressive acne fighting abilities you need to use it inside and out. That means making it your main drink each day. When you substitute green tea for your usual juices, sodas and sugar packed coffees, you eliminate unbalancing substances from your diet and benefit from all of the goodness of green tea.

Fruit juices (yep these are packed with fructose which is fruit sugar), sodas and any other drinks containing sugar, cause inflammation and wreak havoc with blood sugar levels. Your body has to keep your blood sugar levels within a very tight range, it does this by producing insulin to pull sugar out of the blood and pack it away in your fat stores. More sugar to deal with means more insulin. And as we’ve already seen increased insulin production is associated with acne.

So ditch the problematic sugar filled drinks and switch to green tea for hydration. You should aim to drink at least 8 cups a day. Green tea is delicious as a cold beverage too. I like to make a really strong infusion with 4 teabags steeped for a couple of hours and then use that as a concentrate to make drinks. I dilute the concentrate with chilled sparkling water. It’s really good!

For topical application you can make a skin treatment in the same way as I described for making an eye treatment and apply it to your skin with cotton pads, but for the best results the green tea needs to spend a lot longer on your skin.

The way to achieve this is to make it an ingredient in a nourishing face mask.

For this recipe we’re going to combine green tea with a fantastic all natural skin softener that comes with some potent antimicrobial properties of its own. Honey!

Method 1

Brew a strong cup of green tea with 3 teabags. Leave to steep for at least one hour. Squeeze the teabags to get every last drop of goodness out. Now take 3 tablespoons of honey in a bowl and pour in a little of the green tea, stir well then add some more. Stop adding green tea before the mixture gets too runny. It needs to be at the right consistency to sit on your skin without sliding off.

Apply to your face, or wherever you have troublesome acne and leave for one hour. Then wash with cool water. You shouldn’t need to moisturize because honey will have hydrated your skin to perfection.

Method 2

Steep a green tea bag in boiling water for 3 minutes to ensure that the leaves are nice and moist. Remove the bag and let it cool to room temperature. Tear the bag open and remove the leaves. Take 2 tablespoons of honey and mix with the leaves.

Apply to your skin and leave for one hour, then rinse and pat dry.

3. Exfoliating Body Scrub For Sensitive Skin

Green tea leaves make the perfect gentle exfoliator for sensitive skin. Of course you can use this whatever your skin type, but it’s often difficult to find something gentle enough for sensitive skin.

The antioxidant properties of green tea will also reduce inflammation and blemishes at the same time as they gently lift off dead skin cells, leaving you with soft, renewed skin.

For dry skin

Open 2 green tea bags and remove the dry leaves. Mix with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and rub over your face or body using circular motions and paying special attention to any rough patches of skin on your elbows or knees. Shower off then pat skin dry.

For oily skin

Use 2 green tea bags and mix the dry leaves with 2-3 tablespoons of natural yogurt. Apply to your skin with circular motions, then shower off and pat skin dry.

4. Green Tea Hair Rinse

Green tea is a good source of panthenol, which is an ingredient you’ll find in shampoos and conditioners to strengthen hair. It also contains an amino acid called theanine which works with the panthenol to strengthen the hair shaft and stop split ends from forming.

Green tea also seals in moisture and adds a wonderful shine and luster to hair.

The natural vitamin C present in green tea helps to protect your hair and scalp from UV damage. And as if those benefits weren’t enough, green tea can also help to bring relief from dandruff.

For the rinse you’ll need

1 green tea bag

2 cups of boiling water

1 clove (optional)

½ teaspoon cinnamon powder (optional)

2 inch strip of orange peel (optional)

Place all of the dry ingredients into a jug, then pour the 2 cups of water over and leave to steep for 30 minutes. Then strain the liquid and save it to use after you shampoo. Work into your scalp and hair, massages for 3-5 minutes then rinse with more water.

For easier application you can use a squeeze bottle with a nozzle.

5. Facial Toner

Green tea is perfect to use after you have finished cleansing your skin. It will remove the last traces of cleanser and leave your skin fresh and invigorated.

Use the same recipe as for the hair rinse above.

Use a liberal amount on a cotton wall pad and wipe over your skin. Use enough to really wet your skin and let it soak in for a few minutes, you can even help it along by gently massaging with your fingers. The green tea will work to unclog your pores, kill bacteria and reduce inflammation.

Or add it to a spritz bottle and use to freshen up your skin throughout the day.

6. Soothe Sunburned Skin

Green tea works really well as an after sun tonic and takes the heat out of burnt skin while reducing inflammation.

Make an infusion of green tea with 2 teabags in one cup of boiling water. Leave to cool in the fridge for one hour. Use the tea bags to very gently dab the green tea liquid onto the affected parts of your skin. Let it dry. You can repeat as often as you need to obtain relief.

7. Reduce Hair Loss

Green tea contains B vitamins and the antioxidant EGCG which both work to strengthen your hair follicle. Drinking the tea or applying it directly to your scalp will help to stimulate hair growth.

In addition, applying green tea directly to the scalp results in a significant elongation of the hair follicle.

Because green tea contains DHT blockers (DHT is one of the main causes of baldness) it can help to prevent hair loss. And unlike chemical treatments green tea has no unpleasant side effects.

Drink plenty of green tea to get it working for you from the inside, and also apply a freshly brewed and cooled, green tea tonic to your hair.

Use 3 tea bags to make the tea, then squeeze them out well. Apply to your hair and massage in. Cover with a shower cap and leave for 20 minutes before rinsing out.

8. Foot Soak

Green tea is a lovely refreshing soak for hot tired feet. It softens rough skin and deals with any nasty foot fungus.

Make a strong brew of green tea with 4 tea bags. Then add to a bowl of warm or cool water – your choice. Put the bags in as well. Soak your feet for as long as you like. If you have athlete’s foot or toenail fungus, keep a little of the tea to one side to use after you finish soaking your feet. Dip pieces of cotton ball into the liquid and place in between your toes or wipe over affected toenails. Leave for half an hour then remove and dry your skin really well.

Foot tendonitis is a very common cause of foot pain. Tendonitis occurs when there is inflammation of the tendons, which is usually caused by overuse or injury. A tendon is a strong, cord-like band of fibrous tissue which attaches your muscles to your bones.

Tendonitis can affect any of the tendons in the foot and ankle. Tendonitis takes time to recover from, with two to three months being a common time frame, although it can take much longer.

What Causes Tendonitis?

When a tendon is made to work too hard or for too long, or over-stretched, the excessive strain damages and causes minor tears in the tendon. This injury is accompanied by inflammation and pain. Twisting the foot, walking on slopes or falling awkwardly can also cause tendon damage. Foot tendonitis is a common injury and because it’s difficult to adequately rest the injured foot, healing can take a long time.

Tendonitis is common in weekend warriors. People who undertake strenuous tasks around the house, or go for a ten mile hike, when their bodies aren’t used to the activities. Tendonitis is more common in the over 40’s as tendons become less resilient with age and are more likely to tear.

When an injury occurs anywhere in your body, your body responds by increasing the number of red blood cells available to transport extra oxygen and healing nutrients to the site of the injury, and white blood cells to tackle any infection.

This is the cause of inflammation and with most minor injuries the inflammation settles down within a few days as the injury is repaired. The other function of inflammation is to cause pain so that you stop moving the injured limb. The problem with tendonitis is that the injury keeps on happening. Once a small injury occurs – unless the foot is rested immediately – repeated movement creates more micro injuries and prevents the repair process from completing, so the inflammation just keeps going as your body frantically tries to get enough repair products to the injured tendon.

Running, walking, long periods of standing, obesity, bone spurs, high arches, flat feet, unsupportive shoes and high heels, all put strain on the feet and increase the chance of injury. Our feet take a heck of a pounding, carrying our weight and absorbing shocks with every step, yet all too often we favor style over support and pay the price with painful injured feet, that may never completely recover, especially in old age.

The most common symptom of tendonitis is pain. This is usually a sharp pain focused on the area of the affected tendon. As the condition worsens the pain spreads. Pain is usually worse first thing in the morning when you take your first few steps of the day, often causing you to limp and try to avoid putting weight on the injured foot. The pain usually eases off after that, but the longer you spend on your feet the more likely the pain will intensify again. And it’s often unbearable by the end of the day.

With foot tendonitis swelling isn’t immediate, noticeable inflammation sets in several hours after the injury and after a few weeks you may notice that a tender lump has formed over the tendon. The foot often becomes stiff and pain-free movement is limited.

You should see your doctor if you develop foot pain that doesn’t go away within a week. But there are remedies that you can employ at home to lessen the pain and reduce inflammation, to support faster healing. When using these remedies you should also aim to rest the affected foot as much as you can. Rest is the best remedy.

1. Ice Pack

Using an ice pack on the injured foot will help to reduce the inflammation and pain associated with foot tendonitis. If you don’t have any ice, use a bag of frozen peas or corn.

Put crushed ice in a ziplock bag, then wrap the bag in a thin towel.

Place the ice pack on the inflamed area for about 15 minutes.

Repeat this process a few times each day.

A cold compress is also beneficial and is more tolerable than an ice pack, meaning that you can use it for longer.

Place a few ice cubes in a bowl of cold water. Add some essential oils if you like. Essential oils will make this cold compress more effective, but the cold will provide relief all by itself. Peppermint and German Chamomile are good oils to add. Use 2 drops of each. Place a square of muslin or a strip of bandage in the water, wring out then apply to the painful area. Once the cool feeling wears off, dunk the muslin in the ice water again and repeat. One way to get a cold compress really cold is to pop it in the freezer for 5 minutes. It won’t be super cold like an ice pack but it will provide extra relief.

2. Essential Oil Blend For Massage

Massaging your foot with oil will stimulate blood flow and help to reduce the pain and inflammation caused by foot tendonitis. Adding an essential oil blend will provide further benefits. Essential oils have anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties. They stimulate circulation enabling more rapid healing to take place. The fragrances are known to stimulate the release of feel-good endorphins which are a potent pain-reliever all by themselves.

The essential oils that you choose will need to be diluted in a carrier oil and you can use pretty much any oil that you have on hand. Olive oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed, sweet almond, coconut, jojoba, avocado. All are fine. Heat two tablespoons of oil, by placing it into a small bowl and setting that bowl in some warm water. Then add the essential oils.

You can mix and match oils from the following list, which have all been selected for their soothing anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties. Add 20 drops total to the oil. Then gently massage into the affected area for 15 – 20 minutes. Massage your oil blend into your foot daily, or have someone else do it for you, which is always nice! After the oils have been massaged in, follow up with a warm compress.

You might like to try 4 drops of Lavender, 4 drops of Sweet Marjoram, 3 drops of Frankincense, 3 drops of Rosemary, 2 drops of German Chamomile, 2 drops of peppermint and 2 drops of Sandalwood essential oils

Another way to use essential oils is to add them to a foot bath. Dissolve 2 heaped tablespoons of sea or mountain salt in warm water. Add 20 drops of essential oil blend.

German Chamomile – Known for its effective anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties.

Sweet Marjoram – Has sedative properties. Relieve pain and stiffness.

Lavender – This is probably the most well known essential oil for pain relief and relaxation. It is a mild sedative which is good for aiding sleep when experiencing pain and discomfort. Its anti-inflammatory properties help to reduce swelling.

Eucalyptus – Has analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. It’s good for pain and stiffness.

Peppermint – Effective pain blocker, reduces inflammation and brings a cooling sensation to the skin. Peppermint also helps other essential oils to sink deeper into the skin.

Frankincense – Anti-inflammatory and a mild sedative. It’s also used to alleviate stress and relieve pain.

Yarrow – A powerful analgesic pain-reliever and anti-inflammatory.

Wintergreen – A less well-known oil, and should only be used in small doses. It’s very effective in treating painful conditions. Wintergreen contains a very high percentage of methyl salicylate and has similar pain-relieving properties to aspirin (of which it is the main component).

Vetiver – Used since ancient times in Ayurvedic medicine, it brings relief to general aches and pains.

Helichrysum (St John’s Wort) – This oil is quite expensive and valued for its pain-relieving properties. It is anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, and analgesic.

3. Epsom Salts

Another simple but effective way to treat foot tendonitis is to immerse your foot in warm water mixed with Epsom salts. The heat of the warm water will have a stimulating effect and improve circulation while easing pain, and the magnesium sulfate in the Epsom salts will aid in healing the muscles and tendons.

Mix half cup of Epsom salts or magnesium flakes in a large bowl filled with warm water and stir until dissolved. Soak your foot for up to one hour. Repeat this remedy daily.

Another option is to make a warm Epsom salt compress. Mix two tablespoons of Epsom salts in one cup of warm water. Wet a washcloth with this solution, wring it out and place it on your foot for 15 to 20 minutes. Epsom salt can be drying, so use a moisturizing oil or cream to keep your skin in good condition.

4. Comfrey Salve

In clinical trials comfrey has been shown to reduce pain and swelling, making it very helpful for painful, swollen tendons.

Make a herbal infusion with the oil and herbs. If using essential oils in place of the final three ingredients, don’t add them yet.

You can make an infusion the slow way or the fast way. Either way is good, the only difference is the time. The slow way is easy, add the herbs and the oil to a jar, close the lid and leave to mellow for three to four weeks. Shake the jar daily.

The fast way takes three hours and involves heating the oil and herbs in a double boiler, over a low heat.

You’ll know when the infusion is finished because the oil will be a lovely deep green.

Next strain the oil and squeeze the herbs to get the last drops of goodness out. Heat the strained oil and the beeswax in a double boiler, stirring until the beeswax has melted. At this point add the essential oils (if using) and stir in.

Transfer to a clean container and leave to cool and set. The beeswax will thicken the oil as it cools and create a firm but spreadable consistency.

Smooth onto the painful area twice a day.

5. Vinegar Wraps

Alternating hot and cold vinegar wraps reduces the pain of foot tendonitis and decrease swelling. The heat treatment reduces pain and eases sore muscles while the cold treatment reduces inflammation. Vinegar is used instead of water because vinegar is a strong anti-inflammatory agent.

Mix equal amounts of white vinegar and warm water in a large pan.

In a separate bowl, mix equal parts vinegar and cold water.

Soak a small towel in the hot mixture, then wring it out and place it around your foot for three minutes.

Take the towel that is soaking in the cold water and follow the same procedure, but only leave it on for 30 seconds this time.

Repeat the sequence three times.

You can repeat this treatment as many times a day as you have time for. Use the hottest water you can tolerate (but never so hot as to burn) and use ice water, if you can stand that.

Use a moisturizing oil like olive oil afterwards, and add a couple of drops of peppermint essential oil.

6. Cayenne Pepper And Ginger Spice

Cayenne pepper is a rich source of the natural and potent pain reliever known as capsaicin. Capsaicin releases a chemical called substance P which decreases pain by limiting the nerve endings’ ability to send pain signals to the brain. The warming effect of cayenne pepper is also very soothing. Ginger is a good antioxidant and provides warmth. Both stimulate circulation and aid healing.

Mix two tablespoons of cayenne pepper and two tablespoons of ginger powder in half a cup of warm olive oil (or other oil).

Apply this mixture to the affected area and leave for 15 to 20 minutes before washing it off.

Apply several times a day until the condition improves.

7. Wear A Splint, Elastic Bandage or Foot Brace

Injured feet need extra support. In addition to using the other remedies suggested in this article, you should definitely provide some extra support for your foot. Bandages, splints, and foot braces also help to prevent you from moving your foot around too much and aggravating the tendonitis.

An elastic bandage is the most comfortable to wear, especially for sleeping in. But you need to buy the right size so that the bandage isn’t too tight. If it’s too tight, you will impede circulation.

8. Cooling Aloe Vera Gel

This gel will bring pain relief and reduce inflammation. Aloe vera has 2 pain relieving mechanisms. It’s analgesic, which means it reduces pain and it’s anti-inflammatory, meaning it reduces swelling, which is its secondary pain-relieving action. Where some other treatments work by reducing inflammation, aloe is a beneficial remedy to use as soon as the injury occurs before any inflammation has developed.

Aloe Vera Gel is widely available but the best gel is the fresh gel straight from the plant. You can buy Aloe Vera as a houseplant and always have a ready supply of this versatile healing gel to hand. To extract gel from the plant, take a clean sharp knife and cut off a section of leaf. Trim off the skin to reveal a block of transparent gel. Then use a spoon to stir it up and make it ready to use.

To 150ml Aloe Vera gel add

2 teaspoons neem oil

30 drops of lavender essential oil

20 drops of sweet marjoram essential oil

10 drops of clary sage essential oil

5 drops of German chamomile essential oil

5 drops of peppermint essential oil.

Mix thoroughly and apply to your foot regularly. If you cool the gel in the fridge before use, it will be extra soothing.

9. Helpful Supplements To Aid Tendonitis Repair

These supplements help to fight pain, lower inflammation, nourish compromised tissue and give your immune system a boost.

Omega-3 fish oils – These anti-inflammatory fats control swelling, assist wound-healing and proper immune system response. Good food sources are wild-caught fish or seafood. Supplements are a good alternative but quality varies and the way that the fish oils are processed and stored has a high impact on quality. Some supplements are worse than useless and can even be harmful if the oil has oxidized. Make sure you buy a reputable brand.

Collagen/collagen protein – Tendons and ligaments are mostly made of collagen, so supplementing with collagen helps to restore your supply when your body is actively repairing an injury.

Bromelain Enzyme- This enzyme is found in pineapple and is a good anti-inflammatory. The University Of Maryland advises an intake of 250mg twice a day to assist with tissue repair.

MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane) – MSM heals tissue at the cellular level. It’s an anti-inflammatory and helps to relieve pain. It adds permeability to cell membranes, which allows nutrients in to facilitate healing, and wastes out which reduces swelling and speeds up repair.

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